Deceased/Not Found IL - Yingying Zhang, 26, Urbana, 9 June 2017 #1 *Arrest*

[JerseyGirl]

FBI SAYS THE SEARCH FOR MISSING CHINESE SCHOLAR IS AN AGENCY NATIONAL PRIORITY

An assistant special agent in charge of criminal investigation at Springfield FBI office said updates are being regularly sent to the FBI’s acting director’s office and 56 field offices.

“There are going to be a lot of questions about the investigation that I cannot answer. Anything I say here will be heard by the abductor. It would jeopardize our efforts to locate her and to bring her abductor to justice.”

http://foxillinois.com/news/local/new-photos-released-of-yingying-zhang

 

[JazzTune]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS

Sometimes its hard to read baseless speculation on its own, but to read baseless speculation that is racist or accusing the people most hurt by this (family, friends, boyfriend) is infuriating

The 'thanks' button was not enough! Agree with this 1000%....

 

[liltexans]

Search for kidnapped University of Illinois student now considered a “national priority” by F.B.I.

Police have labeled the case a kidnapping. And in a meeting on campus today, the F.B.I. special agent in charge of the investigation called finding Zhang a "national priority" for the agency.

But no further details were discussed at that meeting. And none have been given to the family either, for fear that anything*released to the public might be heard by her kidnapper.

 

[liltexans]

[video=twitter;879335619205492736]https://twitter.com/ui7news/status/879335619205492736[/video]

 

[ninij9]

<modsnip>I don't think she was targeted due to her work either. I think she was targeted because of what her nationality or appearance is and because of her size. I do think it's very possible this guy has an axe to grind and I really don't think she's his first abduction.

Yes, and she could just be his "type".
Or she was very random and the first one that day to approach his car and he lucked out.

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[ninij9]

Yes. Maybe others have been able to detect it on the Astra in question, but I have not been able to. Maybe I'm not looking at the right video footage.

If he's young enough, there's a strange trend of removing all emblems from cars. Drives me nuts.

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[Spartygirl]

Popping in for updates..glad to see the FBI quotes above but my heart is breaking for her and her parents. Hope they catch him soon !!!

 

[Arrissasso]

Hi guys, new to websleuths and huge thank you to @Indy Anna (my real name is also Anna &#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57340 for posting eitiqutte, please see the below links and tell me what your take is? http://www.news-gazette.com/news/lo...a-man-involved-alleged-abduction-attempt.html

But then this article which conflicts;

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-05-24/sheriff-childrens-abduction-claims-unfounded.html
Any connection at all? I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone especially the person in the article if they have no involvement.

 

[IQuestion]

He could also be using his parents or grandparents car, which seems more likely.

ABSOLUTELY! :goodpost:If he was clever enough to figure how to get a female in his car. (The fake ID's didn't work, so he evolved to being "Mr. NIce guy, let-me-help-you-out-rescuer") Of course he would be clever enough to use a friend or relatives car.
Ya' know....If I was the FBI, and I had a suspect....I would catch and release immediately, then watch the guy like a hawk!! Maybe he'll get nervous and make a mistake.

 

[IQuestion]

Search for kidnapped University of Illinois student now considered a &#8220;national priority&#8221; by F.B.I.

Police have labeled the case a kidnapping. And in a meeting on campus today, the F.B.I. special agent in charge of the investigation called finding Zhang a "national priority" for the agency.
But no further details were discussed at that meeting. And none have been given to the family either, for fear that anything*released to the public might be heard by her kidnapper.

I read that headline yesterday. In all your time as a moderator on WS have you ever read "national priority" on a case like this???

 

[liltexans]

WLS-TV in Chicago reports that Yingying Zhang's father, aunt and boyfriend took part in a candlelight vigil on Saturday night. Through an interpreter, Ronggao Zhang pleaded with his daughter to "hold on, don't give up."

http://www.qconline.com/news/illino...cle_1ad93b86-5a7f-11e7-9e04-cb077b4d3d01.html

 

[TiffanyL_AS]

Is a Stun gun the same as a Taser? I have been Tased multiple locations from my butt to my neck, it never knocked me out. Do they make them stronger these days or something? Now a RACC belt I can see fearing, as it will down you, but I hear often about Stun guns and their effects and I am shocked, they must be higher voltage these days or something. Does anyone know what the odds are of one actually rendering someone incapacitated? IMHO

Also, if she were stunned wouldn't she have screamed? It hurts a lot. In videos on YouTube of people being tazed they usually shout out or scream.


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[Owl4]

I pray Yingying is found safe and unharmed. I am curious who alarmed police she was missing? Was it the leasing manager at the apartment she was looking at?

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[IQuestion]

I have another thought. (Tons of them actually,:blushing:.) Does the university use contract work on their agricultural sites? Do they own or lease the "structures" on the agricultural land? When the regular university schedule ends, some staff or contracted workers would still have to take care of the land, right? (Just thinking outside the box and trying to figure out where the car could be hidden, other than just a residential garage.) Hmmm, how do the ag students get to the "ag farms"? Do they use their own vehicles, team up with a designated driver, or use university vehicles?
**edited to add** I noticed how isolated the surroundings were in the picture of her in the blue windbreaker-type jacket and dark grey hat (with white logo)
and thinking to myself, <modsnip> She was wearing the same grey hat with white logo when she was taken. Is that just an odd coincidence?

 

[HeatherLiu]

I pray Yingying is found safe and unharmed. I am curious who alarmed police she was missing? Was it the leasing manager at the apartment she was looking at?

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It was her roommate/friend, a female.

 

[liltexans]

I read that headline yesterday. In all your time as a moderator on WS have you ever read "national priority" on a case like this???

To be fair, I haven't been a moderator very long, but I have been a Websleuths member for a number of years and I have followed other kidnapping cases. I believe there were similar statements made in the recent Tad Cummins case out of TN. Of course, that case had an Amber Alert so it was already at the highest priority level since a child was kidnapped. When Holly Bobo was kidnapped, that case also received a huge number of resources, including one of the largest rewards I've ever seen offered in a case and most of the reward money was offered by the Governor of TN.

In the Delphi murders in Indiana that have still not been solved, it has been reported that the DC offices of the FBI have been kept closely up to date on the investigation. But that case is a double homicide of children, not a kidnapping of an adult.

 

[eastcoasterinco]

You can see his skin color in the various videos.

I agree in that looking at the still that was provided (the one of the car driving on the road prior to picking up YingYing) the suspect looks like a white male.

However, IMO sometimes people who are of Asian, Latin, Native American etc. descent can appear to look Caucasian. For example I'm half Colombian but no one would ever know that just by looking at me, and that's the case for a few of my cousins who are 100% Colombian.

The fact the FBI says in a statement that he's a white male leads me to believe they have other evidence of that (likely more images/video) that allowed them to conclude that definitively.

In a case that is ongoing and to some extent requires the public's help, I doubt the FBI would put out that statement without strong evidence to back it up. They wouldn't want to sway tips coming in about suspects who appear white but are not, technically, Caucasian.

MOO


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[HoldySi]

Hi guys, new to websleuths and huge thank you to @Indy Anna (my real name is also Anna &#55357;&#56397;&#55356;&#57340 for posting eitiqutte, please see the below links and tell me what your take is? http://www.news-gazette.com/news/lo...a-man-involved-alleged-abduction-attempt.html

But then this article which conflicts;

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-05-24/sheriff-childrens-abduction-claims-unfounded.html
Any connection at all? I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone especially the person in the article if they have no involvement.

Being a local, I have to say that I see no connection to this case at all. Though this man had committed his share of crime, it ended up "coming out" that the two teenagers in this situation had lied. He slowed down his work van to park on the street where they were riding their bikes (not knowing he actually lived at the house where he was parking) and got spooked. They over-indulged their story and once they realized that basically a manhunt was underway for this suspect, had to fess up.

 

[eastcoasterinco]

Re a black sedan approached a female in the morning on the same day Yingying disappeared, I believe that female told her parents and her parents called it into non emergency police. The police followed up on the call according to this blotter. I hope they have a good description of the man but if so then I'm curious why a sketch hasn't been released.

http://police.illinois.edu/crime-reporting/police-blotter/



And at the same link there's this:



Could it be the same guy? I wonder how many occurrences have been reported re someone trying to lure a student...

I have to point out that the time that the second report was made was around 2pm. In the screen grab of YingYing's text conversation with the property contact at North 1 (upthread) YingYing indicates that she's running late and will be there around 2:10.

Can't help but notice the consistency in the times, although there's no way to know whether the second female who reported the similar incident did so right after it happened or hours/days later.

In any case, both females in your post reported that this happened in broad daylight in the morning/afternoon hours.

This perp is indeed brazen (if it's the same guy).

MOO


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[Millhouse]

I pray Yingying is found safe and unharmed. I am curious who alarmed police she was missing? Was it the leasing manager at the apartment she was looking at?

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According to this article, it was a friend: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-23/family-missing-ui-scholar-never-never-give.html

However, please be mindful that he is not a suspect or POI, and therefore we cannot discuss him or sleuth him here. (not aimed at you- but the last time I posted this link I think it set off some now-deleted posts)